An analyst of energy storage systems at Greentech Media (my favorite news source for solar/alt-energy information) has listed five “surprising” states where commercial energy storage is doing well or likely to do well, to go along with obvious states like California and New York, which are reshaping the electric grid with a frenzy.
One of those states, I was indeed surprised to see, is New Hampshire, largely because the Public Utilities Commission has a docket (an official analysis) into grid modernization, as I’ve noted. Here’s what Ravi Manghani, GTM Research’s director of energy storage, says:
“Though energy storage is not specifically mentioned in the docket, given similar proceedings in states like Massachusetts and New York, GTM Research expects energy storage to be a component of New Hampshire’s future grid modernization plan,” said Manghani. Today, the economics only pencil out for small commercial customers at the state’s largest utility, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, where peak demand charges would offer a 6 percent internal rate of return for 1-hour systems.
Frankly, that doesn’t sound like the most rousing endorsement, but you never. And I’m sure Eversource would roll its eyes at that use of PSNH.
The other surprising states in the article (here) are Massachusetts, which I don’t think is very surprising, Connecticut, Delaware, and Kentucky, where peak-demand charges are quite high (a good reason to pay for storage).
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